Revel F228Be Review (Speaker)

[amirm]

But I too wonder about the non-be versions of the "same" speakers in this series , there seems to be a corresponding models without Be that priced much better.
So is it worth it to get a Be version especially if you can get a much larger non Be version for your money ?

I think it is a very tough decision. Personally I have always had a hard time with the pricing of the Be range. The jump from non-Be is quite large.

 

[Balle Clorin]

A prominent poster on another forum just bought a pair of these Revels and compared them with his Boston Acoustics VR3s. He preferred his Boston Acoustics speakers and is now selling the Revels.

Why don't people listen to speakers before they buy? It amazes me to pay 10 000 USD and not even listen at home before purchasing.!!

 

[Beave]

Why don't people listen to speakers before they buy? It amazes me to pay 10 000 USD and not even listen at home before purchasing.!!

My guess is that he really wanted to listen to them in his own room, and even more, he wanted to be able to do comparisons with what he already owned. Maybe he couldn't find a dealer that would loan a pair to him? Maybe he got them at a good price and can try to sell them without much financial loss? Or maybe he just has too much money?!?!

 

[GWolfman]

Busy pulling weeds in the garden. Reviews are one thing. But the garden can't wait so had to give priority to that...

Can't wait to see your pictures of your amazing harvest(s) and subsequent meals (at least you posted several last year). Boy, what a night of music and dinner (from the garden) at Amir's must be!

 

[FeddyLost]

is it worth it to get a Be version especially if you can get a much larger non Be version for your money ?

Depends on use case.
Some rooms don't need deeper bass and lower distortion at higher spl, some people find huge difference in tweeters, and i'm sure that there must be more difference than just Be tweeter, like different crossover components.
Best solution is to compare models directly at least in showroom.

 

[Balle Clorin]

I have Revel F36 and are/were dreaming of a xxxBe model for better directivity and avoid the aluminium tweeter break-up ringing at 22k.
But I was hoping Revel would fix the 7-9khz dip in the treble for 228, I am not too interested in buying a premium speaker with such deviations. I do not want a worse treble...Revel should to improve the tweeter/waveguide , beryllium only is not enough. Maybe I should dream of a KEF instead...

By the way, you need to go to the Be range to avoid electrolytic capacitors in the crossover...

Here is my F36 in room, with and without "room correction DSP". Mooving Mic Method Pink noise RTA 1/48. DSP Target curve in bottom of plot

Single point measurement:

F36 Tweeter check. Singe point sweep 1/6

The Be tweeter in 228 does not seem to be worth the money

 

[pma]

There is quite considerable roll-off below 90Hz, 50Hz is 5dB down from the average SPL at higher bass and mids. Does it sound full, is the organ or bass guitar sound OK?

 

[dav0043]

Looks nice and amazingly flat above 100hz, but price always seemed steep for this type of speakers

There is no home speaker on earth that is 'worth' $5,000 for sonic properties. Sure you can gold plate and shine everything but it won't change the sound. If companies had to be honest about engineering and manufacturing costs, the high-end industry would collapse on itself. It's all about marketing to people that have more money (and/or gullibility) than the average consumer. Just look at "high end" cables & wires to see the phenomenon in full effect.

 

[GWolfman]

A prominent poster on another forum just bought a pair of these Revels and compared them with his Boston Acoustics VR3s. He preferred his Boston Acoustics speakers and is now selling the Revels.

Don't know how the VR3s measure, but could be he's just used to them (e.g., their sound)

 

[vkvedam]

A prominent poster on another forum just bought a pair of these Revels and compared them with his Boston Acoustics VR3s. He preferred his Boston Acoustics speakers and is now selling the Revels.

Care to share the link? Would be good to see his reasoning and bias

 

[dutchboy]

Care to share the link? Would be good to see his reasoning and bias

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/revel-performa-228be-vs-boston-acoustics-vr3.3193379/

 

[Tks]

If I was going for a speaker in this tier, might as well just save up for the 300 series. Seems flawless.

 

[FeddyLost]

Here is my F36 in room, with and without "room correction DSP"

Are they OK with fixing such big null 35-60 Hz? Did you try to measure distortion with and without RC?

 

[TNT]

A tiiiiny dip.... 1,5 Khz wide and 12 dB deep... ;-)

//

 

[bigjacko]

Where is the panther?

The headless panther got too much shifts these days, need to let it rest.

 

[Balle Clorin]

Are they OK with fixing such big null 35-60 Hz? Did you try to measure distortion with and without RC?

Correction sounds much better than without- Left speaker.

Note the aluminium tweeter breakup ringing at 22kHz below(Magenta) I Reduce the treble above 16k by DSP so I do not trigger it, I do not hear above 12 kHz anyway...

The 31Hz mode resonance takes 500millesec to drop from 90+dB to 50db without correction, with correction it drops from 82 to 50db in 300msec...!! This is in accordance with what Toole writes in his book. EQ of bass peaks is fine (minimum phase problem)

 

[hmt]

Bass response below 80hz looks sub-optimal

Actually it looks a bit like the KEF R3 in that regard.
A shame that it is so difficult to get hands on Revel speakers here in Germany.

 

[richard12511]

Other than the falling bass response, this looks absolutely fantastic(golfing panther imo).

What's the reason for the falling off bass response? I used to think it was done to counteract room gain, but after reading @René - Acculution.com 's thread about room gain, I no longer believe this is the case. Is this just a limitation of passive design?

 

[DSJR]

Just asking - The chap who preferred his Bostons... No idea how these latter perform but I wonder if the 'flatness' across the lower kHz region might have made the Revel's sound a bit 'cold' in tone? Just a thought, especially if the driving amp can be a bit 'relentless' sounding (in the UK, we have Naim, which still seems to push the sound out at the listener a bit but I'm sure other makers can do this too)

 

[FeddyLost]

Correction sounds much better than without

For sure, otherwise it wouldn't be invented.

The 31Hz mode resonance takes 500millesec to drop from 90+dB to 50db without correction, with correction it drops from 82 to 50db in 300msec...

Both results are excellent for home listening room. I've just heard a lot about problematic fixing interference nulls, so if 35-60 Hz valley is just lack of modal support it might be OK for such correction if system don't boost this region 5 dB up. Boosting any LF will eat out headroom very soon even from 2x8" ....